


Little Talk(s)

by mearcats



Series: home is wherever i'm with you [5]
Category: ER (TV 1994)
Genre: Deleted Scene, F/M, Friendship, Pining, Supportive Abby Lockhart, but sir that's my emotional support otp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2019-08-24
Packaged: 2020-09-25 03:41:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20370088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mearcats/pseuds/mearcats
Summary: An episode continuation of Wake Up (12x05), because we all know Abby told Luka about Dubenko's indecent proposal at some point.





	Little Talk(s)

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was a speed-writing exercise, so please excuse any errors!

****Abby just needs to grab her purse and stash her lab coat in her locker, and then she can finally go home. Ah, blissful home, where her bed is. 

She strides into the lounge, intent on hurrying and not making small talk with anyone who might be in there—hey, it’s been a brutal twelve-hour shift—when she sees him. 

Luka is sitting on one of the benches, head buried in his hands. He’s still here, hours after Blair’s condition deteriorated. 

Hesitating, she makes up her mind after deliberating for a couple minutes. 

She clears her throat, but it elicits no reaction. Is he asleep? Or does he just want to be alone? All too familiar with Luka’s (and hers, if she’s being honest) tendency toward isolation at the worst times, Abby goes up to him and places her hand on his shoulder. 

“Luka?”

The sound of her voice finally has an effect, and he lifts his head to look at her. They’re almost the same height like this, her standing and him sitting. She has to remind herself that she can’t just lean over and brush his hair back and kiss his forehead, no matter how much she wants to and he seems to need it. 

He tries to smile, but it’s more of a grimace. “You off?”

“Yeah, as soon as I get my stuff. I was just surprised you were still here.”

Luka makes a non-committal sound, and Abby tilts her head to the side, studying him. The tension, the redness around his eyes...yeah, she needs to do something. Taking a deep breath, she says, “I, um, I was going to stop by either Ike’s or the deli on the way to my place, though. If you want to join me. My treat.”

Biting his lip, he reaches up to his shoulder and covers the hand she didn’t realize was still there. He squeezes it once and lets go, looking at her inscrutably before finally nodding his assent. 

Abby lets out an internal sigh of relief. 

“I drove. Need a ride?” he asks.

With a smile, Abby pulls back her hand (which is tingling, weird) and pushes her hair back behind her ear. “Sure. So...deli or Ike’s?”

“I like that deli. I’m glad it’s still open.”

Wow, it’s probably been years since he’s been there, likely since they dated. If that doesn’t put her on a dangerous train of thought…

Shaking her head to dismiss those oh-too-tempting reminisces, she smiles at him. “Okay, well, let me grab my purse and put away this lab coat, and we can get going.”

&&&&

They’re sitting at her coffee table, finishing up their sandwiches. Luka is still subdued, and it’s unnerving Abby. After seeing him glum for so long, she’s gotten used to his quick smiles again over the last couple of months, and she doesn’t like seeing him like this. 

Taking a drink of her coffee, she leans back into the cushions and studies him. He’s not even a seat-length away, so it takes very little effort to reach over and elbow him gently. 

“So...did you want to hear about Dubenko trying to make me his concubine?”

His eyes light up with curiosity and glee. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

“Oh, Jesus. It’s...well, you know how Lucien is out for a few weeks?”

“Lucien, eh? But yeah, I was actually talking to him for a few minutes, and he told me it was prostate cancer. I heard his procedure went well.” 

Abby snorts. “Indeed. And please, I call everyone by their names. Except Morris.” 

“Don’t let Morris know he’s special, it’ll get to his head.” Luka beams at her, clearly chuffed with himself.

She can’t help but giggle a little. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I found out about Dubenko’s diagnosis...oh, the day Blair arrived at County.” She regrets bringing Blair up the second Luka’s face falls. 

“Oh, Luka, like I said earlier, there was nothing you could have done differently with Blair. There’s no way of knowing what made her regress, and from what I saw you went above and beyond.”

“I know, it just...well, you know how it goes.”

“Yeah.”

Clearing her throat, she continues. “Anyway, I saw him up in oncology when I was there with our BRCA lady. So the next time I saw him I asked if he wanted to talk over coffee or something.”

“Ah,” Luka says, sounding oddly pleased. 

She’s relieved enough he’s not looking and sounding depressed that she can’t be bothered to figure out what he’s so satisfied about.

“Well, then we went to grab coffee, and he told me about his diagnosis.”

“Okay…”

“He, uh, mentioned his concern that he wouldn’t be able to, um, get it up again. Or ever have sex again.”

Luka presses his lips together, clearly trying not to laugh.

Abby continues, “So, naturally, he wanted one last hurrah before going under the knife. He asked if I’d be willing to give it a go. I passed on that, obviously.”

“I’m shocked you’d turn down such a romantic offer.”

“I know, right? I mean, he did say he’d have tried to be more traditional about dating under other circumstances, but that didn’t stop him from also asking if I’d have sex with him _after_ his operation to see if everything still worked.”

He stops for a moment, looking as if he’s been bludgeoned. Then he lets out a full, belly-deep laugh, and Abby can’t help but chuckle along with him. 

When he finally catches his breath again, he’s wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re doing here with me when you could be, ah, doing Dubenko.”

She reaches out and swats his arm. “Oh, shut up,” she says, but she’s grinning at him and can’t stop. 

“And they say romance is dead.”

“It might not be dead, but it sure is injured.”

“I heard he was at the hospital today. Did you see him? Was he doing okay?”

Abby groans. “He’s doing fine. In every way, as he made clear to me.”

“Hopefully with words and not actions. Did he make another offer?” Luka chortles.

“No. I, ah, I may have introduced him to my friend the ‘satisfaction facilitator,’ but I think Dubenko and I are friends now.”

His smile turns soft. “Well, then he’s a lucky man to have such a good friend.”

Her cheeks flush and she looks down at her sandwich wrapper. She nearly jumps when Luka’s strong, gentle hand grips her wrist lightly. 

“Hey, thank you. For earlier and for this, for, for getting my mind off of everything.”

God, does he have to look so unfairly beautiful in that blue shirt? It’s torture not to reach over and caress his face. “It’s not a problem when the company’s as good as it is now.”

He blushes and lets go of her hand, though he doesn’t pull away or distance himself. “Good enough to maybe watch an episode of that dramatic show about doctors?”

“Jeez, why not just go back to work if we want drama involving doctors?”

“Hey, it’s better than participating!”

Abby reaches over and squeezes his forearm to gentle her words. “We would know, huh? But yeah, let’s watch, unless I can convince you Iron Chef is a better choice.”

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come shout with me about Luby! 
> 
> And yes, they were watching That Other Medical Show and probably got _ideas_ from watching Meredith and Derek. Idiots.


End file.
